Chapter 29 Business Talent: Chen Junbo Gives Her a Tea House

Zhang Maolin turned his head, glanced at Bi Fang, and said mischievously, "Butler Bi is here..."

Bi Fang smiled and nodded: "Grandpa, Bi Fang has come to receive his punishment."

Zhang Maolin's gaze swept across his face, he gave a soft 'humph,' and closed his eyes slightly, saying, "I think you should relinquish your position as steward to someone else as soon as possible and go home to farm."

Hearing this, Bi Fang's knees buckled, and he hurriedly knelt down: "Master, it was Bi Fang's fault. Please punish me! I will definitely check the accounts carefully in the future and will never make the same mistake again."

Old Master Zhang struggled to sit up, and as he calmed down, he glared at him and said sternly, "Why don't you tell the truth! How long are you going to keep this up! And who are you going to keep it from! Don't forget, your master's surname is Chen, and he's standing right here."

These words made Li Yang's heart skip a beat. Did the old man mean that the steward knew about it but didn't report it?

She couldn't help but look up at Chen Junbo's face. The man lowered his brows and eyes, stood upright with his head down, and no one could tell that there was anything unusual about his expression.

Did he already know all along?

Well! So all this trouble has happened, and I've been completely oblivious all along!

Since they already knew about the tea shop's losses, why did they still ask me to check the accounts? I've been checking the accounts day and night for days, and my eyes are almost blinded by the dim candlelight at night.

Isn't this just playing around by myself?

Suddenly, she felt she had been made a fool of, and she was furious. Seeing Bi Fang kneeling on the ground repeatedly apologizing, she muttered to herself, 'Serves him right!'

Bi Fang was stunned for a moment, then said, "The deficit was discovered years ago, and the estate manager was reprimanded. The very next morning, the madam summoned me for a lecture. Because the deficit was not large, I only reported it to the young master and that was the end of it."

Who would have thought that this reprimand would instead serve as a wake-up call for the other party, whose accounting methods had become increasingly sophisticated over the past two years... and whose appetite had grown ever larger... This year, half of the deficit was given to the madam, and the other half... Old Master, it's all Bi Fang's fault, please punish him severely."

Li Yang finally understood what had happened and was astonished: how could there be such a strange thing in the world? The mistress of the house had secretly conspired with the people on the estate to steal their own money without her son's knowledge... and yet half of the servants had not gone... For a moment, she did not know whether to resent her mother-in-law or sympathize with her.

No wonder Chen Junbo reported to Old Master Zhang; otherwise, it would have been really difficult for him as a son.

It seems that Bi Fang was also caught in a bind. If this was his mother-in-law's idea, then... Bi Fang really can't be blamed.

As Li Yang thought about it, a feeling of 'we are all in the same boat' suddenly arose from the bottom of his heart, and his gaze towards Bi Fang softened.

Then Chen Junbo said in a deep voice, "Grandpa, Bi Fang has already told me about this matter. It was my decision. If you want to punish someone, then punish me."

These two, master and servant, are truly devoted to each other; it's the first time I've ever seen someone so eager to take the blame for someone else.

Li Yang chuckled inwardly. Fortunately, none of this concerned her. She had only recently married into the Chen family and couldn't take the punishment for her employer. It was a pity she had missed a good opportunity to curry favor with her employer.

The old man's gray eyes moved without any light, his gaze sweeping over the master and servant. He sighed and said, "Get up. Go and call Lin Shuang here."

Lin Shuang? Who is Lin Shuang? My mother-in-law is called Lin Shuang? Li Yang was dissatisfied. Sweet rain? Cold frost? My mother-in-law's personality is really not suitable to be called Zhang Lin Shuang. She should be called Zhang Pili, which is more in line with the 'thunderous bow' when she scolds people.

She was enjoying herself when the old man turned to her and asked, "Girl, were you knowledgeable about the tea industry before?"

Li Yang quickly stood up and waved his hand, "Grandpa, I don't understand. When I was young, I lived with my parents in the back mountain and didn't study tea ceremony. Later, I ran a wonton shop for two years, so I didn't have time to learn these things. I only know a little about the tea shop's accounts thanks to the steward's teaching."

"Alright, alright." After clearing his throat a few times, the old man closed his eyes and asked, "Ziheng, what do you think?"

Young Master Chen chuckled and said, "Nothing can be hidden from Grandpa. I was just about to ask Grandpa to let Madam Li manage the tea shop business."

What?! What are these two, grandfather and grandson, up to?!

Hearing the other party present the tea shop to him with both hands, Li Yang felt no joy at all.

I just said I 'don't understand,' so why am I being put in charge of the tea shop now?

She looked at Old Master Zhang with a puzzled expression, then at Chen Junbo, but neither of them could give her an answer. In desperation, she turned to look at Bi Fang, only to see the latter smiling slightly and nodding at her...

What the hell?! When she first married into the Chen family, she had a life of eating, drinking and sleeping all day long. Now, not only does she have to keep track of Chen Junbai's accounts, but she also has to make snacks for this young master from time to time... These tasks are extremely tedious, and she hasn't been able to go to the banquet hall to check the accounts for several days.

Then he took over the tea shop... especially since this tea shop had intricate connections with his mother-in-law...

How could she possibly take over a business that even the head steward couldn't manage, including her mother-in-law, the tea shop, and the financial losses?

Thinking of this, Li Yang hurriedly tugged at Chen Junbai's sleeve and whispered, "No, I can't do it. I can't manage the tea shop. Tell Grandpa that you're wrong."

To her surprise, the other person simply lowered their head and remained silent, then reached out and grasped her wrist through her sleeve, a faint smile playing on their lips.

What are you doing?!

Li Yang struggled to free his wrist, then pursed his lips and said, "Grandpa, Chen Junbo is talking nonsense. I can't manage the tea shop. This business needs to be managed by Butler Bi..."

“Girl, don’t be afraid. I think you have a very high talent for business.” He paused to catch his breath and continued, “When they were learning accounting, they didn’t have your aptitude.”

Grandpa... I'm not scared... no, I am! I'm scared of trouble!

Logically, one should feel happy to be praised. But right now, Li Yang deeply lamented his 'inescapable' fate, and the smile he forced was more like a grimace.

Why does it feel like the 1,000 taels for a marriage contract are getting harder and harder to earn?

She secretly began to calculate whether a tea shop manager's annual allowance was a hundred taels of silver. Adding the kitchen and the accounting, she wondered if they would lose money if they continued like this.

Before Li Yang could even recover from his 'fate,' Old Master Zhang changed the subject, 'Ziheng, has your father returned home?'

Chen Junbo's eyes widened: "Grandpa, Father has not yet returned home."

The old man simply sighed and said nothing more.

"Father, why bring up that dead man on such a fine day!" The voice clearly indicated that Madam Chen had arrived. She strode lightly into the courtyard, glanced at Li Yang, and quickly went into the main room, finding the nearest chair and settling in. She then kicked the snow-white Pekingese dog, which barked twice and sat down next to the old man.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhang Maolin caught his breath and coughed violently. Chen Junbo quickly stepped forward to help him up and gently patted his back to help him catch his breath.

Chen Zhangshi, who was eating dates on the table in the main room, paused when she heard the commotion. She quickly glanced at Chen Junbai's actions and then focused on eating her dates again.

Li Yang felt dizzy, wondering if he was seeing things.

When Old Master Zhang caught his breath and looked up at his daughter's behavior, he was furious again. "Can you blame anyone else for this?"

"Father! What nonsense are you talking about? Did I tell him to go find a prostitute? Did I tell him to stay in the back alley and not come home? If he wanted to come home, would the gatekeeper of the Chen residence stop him...?"

As soon as Chen Zhangshi opened her mouth, everyone present lowered their heads.

Li Yang's earlier sighs and lamentations about his fate vanished, replaced by a good mood of watching the show.

It turns out my father-in-law was keeping a mistress in the back alley!

No wonder I've never seen him at the Chen residence since we got married.

Good heavens! Today's events are truly spectacular, one after another! Hahaha!

"Shut up!" Old Master Zhang coughed violently again, provoked by her words.

Madam Chen pursed her lips and murmured softly, "That's right. Besides, who told you to bring up that deadbeat first? If I had, you would have been unhappy..."

After taking a couple of deep breaths to stop coughing, Zhang Maolin leaned against Chen Junbai's arm, one hand on the armrest, and pointed at his daughter, who looked completely indifferent, and shouted angrily: "I called you here today to ask you what exactly happened at the tea shop!"

Mentioning the tea shop, Madam Chen Zhang's phoenix eyes swept fiercely over the people in the courtyard, but then she pretended to be indifferent and said, "It's just a small business. Why does such a small tea shop have to bother you, old man? These two children are becoming more and more useless."

"You! Stubborn and hopeless! Do you know that you got 20% of the tea shop's profits, but someone else took 30%!" Old Master Zhang was furious. He pointed a finger at his daughter and said in a trembling voice, "You, today you will transfer the tea shop's title deed to Madam Li's name and let her manage the tea shop's business. You are not allowed to interfere in the tea shop's affairs again."

"Father!" Madam Chen almost jumped up from her chair. "Are you senile? Who does she think she is? What right does she have to interfere in our family business? I think you're really senile, siding with outsiders."

Li Yang looked embarrassed and rolled his eyes inwardly: I didn't want to get involved at all... What an undeserved disaster.

Zhang Maolin took a deep breath and said sternly, "Li is Ziheng's wife, the daughter-in-law of the Chen family, and the young mistress of the Chen residence! Since she married into the Chen family, she is a member of the Chen family, and she has the same status as you. Since you can't manage the family business, then let go and hand it over to Li. It's settled!"

"She's just a wild girl selling wontons on the street, what right does she have! What does she know? Does she even care? Don't even think about it!" Madam Chen shouted, almost yelling, "So that's why you, you wretched girl, came here to try and take advantage of me! Who gave you the guts!"

Watching the two talk, Li Yang felt no awareness of being involved, only that Chen Zhangshi was shouting and yelling in front of everyone without any restraint... just like a spoiled daughter.

If her parents were here, she'd probably be enjoying herself somewhere on the back hill right now.

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but shrink her nose, her eyes burning hot.